Bound by Love

Chapter 15: The First Day [Part-I]

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'Akshu, you can do it,' she repeated in her head as she stood in front of the NGO's entrance. After taking a deep breath, she proceeded to walk inside her new workplace.

She went directly to the reception and greeted the receptionist with a kind yet professional smile.

"Good morning, Miss Dutta," Akshara greeted, adding the last part as she noticed the name on her badge .

Miss Dutta returned her smile and replied, "A very good morning to you too, Miss Goenka."

"Actually, I need my employee ID card, and also, could you please give me directions to my cabin?" Akshara requested politely.

"Of course. Here is your ID card, and these are the keys to your cabin. As for directions, I will take you there myself, as instructed by Dr. Mahima Birla. And last but not least, you can call me Tina, as Miss Dutta makes me feel ancient," Tina said with a smile.

Akshara, now standing in front of her cabin with the key in her hand, closed her eyes and thought, 'Mere saath rahena Kanha ji,' just before opening the door. As she expected, the cabin was very welcoming and comforting with a light color scheme that was easy on the eyes. It was soundproof, as were all the other rooms in the building because most of them would be used for therapy sessions. ('Stay with me, Kanha ji.')

She turned to Tina, "It's very comfy and just perfect."

Tina smiled in reply, "Miss Goenka, let me give you a tour of the building and introduce you to all the other staff members," she suggested.

"Tina, you should just address me as Akshara and not Miss Goenka," she requested.

"No, it wouldn't be right, as you are my boss. How can I address you by your first name?" Tina denied.

But Akshara wasn't taking no for an answer. "Think of it as the boss's order and just address me by my name." Akshara grinned victoriously while Tina had a silly smile on her face.

As they were in the garden after the tour and introductions with the staff members, Akshara noticed the garden was connected to an orphanage situated behind the building. When she saw small kids playing there, she couldn't resist and started playing with them. Since the inauguration was at 12 o'clock, they were free until then. Seeing all this, Tina remembered how just a few moments ago she was scared of how her new boss would be. Now she knew that her boss was even more soft-hearted than any other person she knew. Her boss, however mature she looked, was still a kid inside and smiled, looking at her being carefree and smiling so brightly.

Unknown to them, someone else was also looking at Akshara. It was none other than the co-head of the music therapy department, Mayuri Sinha.

Just then, Tina noticed her and straightened her appearance, as it was possible that Mayuri might be a strict boss. She walked up to her and introduced herself.

"Good morning, Miss Sinha."

"A very good morning to you too, Miss?"

"It's Miss Dutta, but please address me as Tina only." Tina smiled.

"Then you shall do the same and address me as Mayuri."

"Yes, Mis-Mayuri." Tina corrected herself.

"By the way, who is that playing with the children?" Mayuri asked, her attention on Akshara, watching her with curiosity.

"That is Miss Akshara Goenka. She will be co-heading this department with you," Tina informed her.

Mayuri nodded, maintaining a calm exterior for the sake of professionalism, but inside she was dancing with joy upon hearing the name. Akshara's name was not a small one in their profession, at least in India. Mayuri was confused about why a therapist of Akshara's caliber would work for a non-profit NGO and not a big hospital abroad.